


Signs and Symptoms

by AkiraMokona



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:47:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27778609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkiraMokona/pseuds/AkiraMokona
Summary: Every day, another symptom. Whatever it is, it's contagious.Verde x Reader
Relationships: Verde/Reader, Verde/You
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. Increased Heart Rate

You removed the lanyard from its place around your neck, swiping the card through the designated reader by the entrance. With a quiet whir, the doors slid open and you stepped inside. You made your way through the forum, ignoring the monologue being played on repeat over the speakers. It would be turned off eventually, when the night shift began, but you would have to endure it for just a while longer.

You reached the technician locker room, noticing your coworker from the shift before. You hesitated, realizing that you couldn’t remember her name. You had too many numbers and details running around in your head.

Before you had the chance to avoid being noticed, she turned and smiled at you, “_____!” She hurried over to you, taking your hands, “Look, I’ve been meaning to ask a favour from you. You know the gala that’s being held tomorrow?”

You hesitated. The gala was a quarterly event that was held in order to sway stakeholders and casual donators. The laboratory council would ask every single employee to come in an attempt to show the best that current science had to offer. You had always politely declined the invitation since you preferred to work your night shift and avoid all of the dressing up and kissing up. Instead, you got to count bacteria and feed mice without any assistants following you around like a lost puppy or a supervisor constantly hovering over your shoulder. Granted, that was your norm for every night, a benefit of taking the night shift, but you still preferred working in quiet over going to a party. You nodded, “I’m aware of it.”

“I know you don’t like going, but Janice from E Building bailed on me because she’s having her grandchildren over.”

You were about to politely decline when the door opened, revealing one of the new scientists. You inwardly sighed, realizing that you couldn’t remember his name, either.

“Oh, hey,” He grinned, “Are either of you going to the gala tomorrow?”

“I’m trying to convince _____ to come with us.”

You fought the urge to roll your eyes.

“You should come,” His attention turned to you.

“I’d rather not.”

“I heard that a lot of technicians are getting switched to other buildings. Apparently some pretty high-ranking positions have opened up. Maybe even A Building.”

You perked up. The buildings were categorized alphabetically, A Building being the most prestigious. It was the epitome of scientific discovery. Positions rarely opened up, and when one did, everyone would jump at the chance. Sure, you worked in B Building, but the difference was practically night and day.

Now that you thought about it, everyone from A Building was guaranteed to be at the gala. They garnered more funds than all of the other buildings combined. If you went to the party, you would be able to increase your chances of getting access to the best equipment and experiments the entire complex had to offer.

“Fine,” You changed into your lab coat, “I’ll go.”

Your response was met with cheers from your two coworkers, though you only felt the sting of mistake.

You couldn’t believe that you had been dragged into this.

You stood off to the side of the room, wearing a dress from your closet that hadn’t seen the light of day in ages. You swore that the dress wasn’t even yours, but instead your university roommate’s. She had a very different style than you did, but it must have gotten mixed up when you both moved out after your final year. But, since it was the only formal attire you had, you were forced to make do with it.

“It’s nice to see everyone out of their lab coats,” Your colleague sighed, stretching out her arms and twirling for a moment to bring attention to her dress, “Not to mention we get to relax.”

Your brow twitched, knowing that you were doing the opposite of relaxing, but you couldn’t bring yourself to say anything.

Suddenly, her gaze flickered to something over your shoulder, “Whoa.”

You sipped your drink, trying not to wonder why she was staring. Unfortunately, your will broke and you spared a glance behind you.

In the mass of dresses and suits, there was someone that was still wearing their white lab coat.

“Who’s that?” Your curiosity was getting the better of you. However, as you turned to look at your colleague, you realized that she was heading off to talk to someone else, “H-Hey!” You reached out, but she was already too far away. Calling her name across the room was definitely not happening. You sighed, resigning yourself to staying put. Being on the night shift had the blessing of solitude, but it was also a curse; you hardly knew anyone at the party. You were familiar with your colleague from the afternoon shift, but you could never remember her name.

“Oh, _____, there you are.”

You hesitated, taking a brief second to finish your drink before spinning around to face your supervisor. Your eyes widened slightly, hoping she hadn’t come to chew you out for something. She was nice enough, but stone cold and unforgiving when it came to mistakes, “Evening, Doctor.”

“I was just talking about you.”

“Oh-“ Your gaze wavered, realizing that someone was standing next to her. It was the man wearing the lab coat, “You were?”

Your supervisor delved into a story. You knew that it would take at least seventy-five seconds, so you took that time to look over the mysterious scientist. He was quite tall, and he looked quite ragged. It seemed like he had been dragged right out of his lab to come to the gala, or he was making a protest against formal wear. His hair was ruffled and he was sporting the beginnings of a five o’clock shadow.

However, you quickly noticed that he hadn’t looked away from you since the conversation had started, though he didn’t look particularly interested. You broke eye contact with him, returning your attention to your supervisor.

“So, since his head technician left, he’s been looking for a replacement. I recommended you for the position.”

“You want to give me a head tech position?” You were finding his stare distracting now. You couldn’t deny that he was attractive, especially since he was intelligent, but you were more concerned with the new job opportunity.

“You would still keep your night shift, mainly analyzing, but you would also serve as an assistant. You would have direct influence over projects.”

You heard the man scoff, casting a glare toward your boss. She ignored him, though you noticed a gleam of malice overtake her features.

“Oh, I’m sorry, since you both mainly work at night, I doubt you’ve met each other officially. _____, this is Doctor Verde from A Building. Doctor, this is Miss _____ from B Building.”

You immediately clenched your jaw to keep it from dropping open. So this was the opening in A Building that the other scientist had been talking about. This was your chance. You extended your hand, wanting to be polite, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Doctor.”

You expected some sort of hesitation. Usually those deeply involved with science, especially the staff from A Building, were eccentric and prone to certain habits. You had no idea what sort of inclinations Verde had toward social constructs, but if his current attire was of any indication, he had no concern for the standards of others.

Much to your surprise, he immediately took your hand, shaking it. You hoped that you didn’t look nervous, despite wanting to crawl into a supply cupboard and die. There was something about the way he carried himself, that sharp mind lurking beneath an indifferent expression, which was slowly driving you insane. You had no idea if he was impressed with you or wanted to leave the conversation. He was impossible to read.

“Are you aware of your tachycardia?”

The question threw you, “Ah, sorry?”

“Your tachycardia,” He gently turned your hand to reveal his fingertips on your wrist, “You have an abnormally fast heart rate.”

“I know what tachycardia means,” You countered, letting go of his hand. You weren’t sure what to think of him. He could be the same as every snobby scientist and constantly explain things to you, or he was merely making an observation. You briefly considered the possibility that he knew the sudden effect he had on you.

“Fair enough,” His hand dropped back to his side, “Why do you have it, then?”

You inwardly sighed, knowing now that he was just observing, “I don’t like parties,” You checked your watch, “And I’m worried about whoever is covering for me tonight. The mice in cage ten are practically feral.”

The corners of his mouth lifted into a slight grin, though you couldn’t tell if he was laughing at you or with you, “So, are you interested in working for me?”

“I’ve always been interested in working in A Building,” You nodded, deciding to give a simple and flattering response, “Considering that you’re part of the faculty, it would be a valuable experience.”

“You start tomorrow, then. Unless you want to escape this party and go now.”

It was only then that you realized that your boss had left you earlier in the conversation. You had been distracted by Verde. You hesitated, “I don’t have my lab clothes with me. I left them at home,” You doubted that he would let you waltz around in a dress that definitely didn’t meet proper safety standards.

“I don’t mind what you’re wearing at all,” He turned, starting to walk toward the door, “I’ll just give you the tour tonight.”

You nearly tripped over your own foot when the weight of what he said fully hit you. You watched him, wondering if he just didn’t care about your attire for a tour or if he was one of the most straight-faced flirts in the world.

No, you corrected yourself, you were reading too much into it.


	2. Sweaty Palms

His laboratory consisted of an entire floor of A Building. It took all you had to keep a straight face rather than gawk at the technology in front of you. He led you through the various stations and showed you the different types of equipment, most of which you had only heard about but had never seen. You noticed him staring at you several times, though he was still impossible to read. He seemed to be keen on impressing you, either way.

“I’ve heard quite a lot about you from my colleagues.”

You looked away from the terrariums filled with different types of frogs and lizards, “You have?”

“They praise your efficiency. Since they’re permitted to store their experiments in different buildings, they go to you when the observations require high maintenance. You find the best way to gather information despite having such an intense workload. Even before your supervisor suggested you as my technician, you were my first choice.”

Your eyes widened, surprised by his words.

“Though, one of our mutual coworkers, the one that just gained his doctorate, has been bringing you low maintenance experiments on purpose. He’s told me about it several times.”

You knew who he was talking about; that young scientist that helped convince you to go to the gala, “Why is he doing that?”

“He thinks you’re attractive and likes visiting you. Now that I’ve met you, I’m inclined to agree.”

You were rendered speechless, his compliments were the exact opposite of anything you would have ever expected from him. Still, he kept such a casual expression. Your suspicion that he had been staring at you was growing.

“Anyway,” He turned on his heel, as if he had only been discussing the contents of the terrariums and not your attractiveness, “There’s one last thing that I want to show you.”

You followed him to a large desk in front of various screens. A scanner was placed in the centre of the desk’s surface. A hand scanner. You glanced to Verde, knowing that this level of security wasn’t normal. The individual employee cards were usually enough to keep anyone from accessing high-level experiments, but it seemed that Verde wasn’t convinced. Or, you realized, he wanted all of the other scientists in his building to stay out his business.

“The elevator’s card reader will be reprogrammed to allow you onto this floor. However, this scanner activates all of the equipment and without it, nothing will work unless I’m here. Since you’ll need some machines for making your observations and I won’t always be here, though that’s rare, I’ll set the scanner so it will recognize your handprint.”

He pressed his palm against the surface, only for a small beep to emit from the machine, “Error.”

Verde hesitated, and you felt a twinge of sympathy. You always felt horrible when the experiments you were in charge of didn’t play out as intended. He rubbed his hand on the front of his lab coat, then tried again.

The machine responded with an automated chime, the entire floor whirring to life as if it was some beast awakening. The low hum of everything working in unison rumbled in your chest. You marveled at how many things you were now in charge of maintaining.

“Welcome back, Doctor Verde,” The computer before you began displaying various messages, most of which were going too fast for you to read.

He began typing on one of the four keyboards, “There, now you can input your handprint into the database,” He continued typing, undoubtedly working on some of the computer messages.

You moved closer to him, leaning over to press your hand against the scanner. You noticed how small your hand was compared to the screen; Verde’s hand nearly covered the entire surface, while yours only covered a fraction. When you pulled away, you realized that the scanner was cold and damp. You paused, unsure of the cause, only to remember that Verde had placed his hand there previously. He had been sweating, nervous under that indifferent expression.

“Welcome, Miss _____,” The computer chimed.

You grinned, moving to the side as Verde reached for a stack of papers by your hip.

“You should go get some rest,” He explained, “The real work starts tomorrow. I’ll likely be here, but in the off chance that I’m not, I’ll leave a list for you by the door.”

You were taken aback by his dismissal, but then remembered that your attire wasn’t lab appropriate. You nodded, “Thank you for showing me around.”

“You’re welcome. It’ll make things easier for you tomorrow,” He didn’t look away from the screen, the light reflected on his glasses.

You turned to leave, making your way to the door. However, you only made it a few steps before you stopped and turned around.

Verde’s gaze flickered from your waist to your eyes. You had caught him staring again, and yet he didn’t seem put off by it. You weren’t bothered by it, either. His expression was still calm. He was probably just watching you leave, “Is something wrong?”

You shook your head, “Nothing, I just wanted to wish you a good night.”

His features softened. It was the first change in emotion you had seen from him. Your comment had amused him. He turned back to the computer, “Good night, Miss _____.”

You continued to the door, feeling the weight of Verde’s gaze on you once again. You didn’t turn around, knowing that, with his observation skills, he would be able to tell that you were embarrassed.


End file.
